ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY
21
<< Continued from page 19
is New Wind’s éCOmachine, a holistic concept for
building design. According to New Wind’s website, the
éCOmachine “offers 20% more living areas, through the
use of terraces, gardens or balconies, which are present
on all floors.”
The exterior surfaces of the éCOmachine harness wind
to generate power. On New Wind’s website, project
crew member Clichy Batignolles says, “The ‘leaves’ will
be scattered across the underside of the two overhead
canopies and will create energy by fluttering in the
breeze. If your existing building cannot accommodate
solar panels or ‘wind leaves’, but ownership still
desires to have solar power harvested on site, the
Smartflower is an innovative solution. The Smartflower
system resembles a large mechanical flower, but
one that tracks the movement of the sun through
the course of the day, maximising its solar energy
collection. During inclement weather, the system’s
‘petals’ retract and the entire system retreats into a
protective shell. Once installed, its performance is
largely self-sufficient.
Although domestically offered from a Boston-based
company, the Smartflower’s origins are European,
developed four years ago by an Austrian company.
Madeline Scharff, project manager for SmartFlower Solar
North America, says that the Smartflower holds up “very
well in inclement weather. They’re in place in the Swiss
Alps and on a ranch in Texas,” she says. The system
automatically self-cleans, preventing build-ups of snow,
dust, or dirt, in all but the most catastrophic conditions.
The system can perform on a slope and within three or
four hours, be moved from one site to another.
FORGET THE PANELS; MAKE YOUR ENTIRE ROOF
A SOLAR COLLECTOR
You may never feel the need to fire a bullet at your
roof … while skydiving. And, to be fair, that is not
exactly what Tesla is urging you to do, but the famously
innovative company does make clear on their website
that their solar roofs are more durable than standard
building materials, able to withstand hail stones
traveling at 160 kilometres per hour. When coupled
with a Tesla Powerwall battery, Tesla’s solar roofs
promise to keep homeowners powered on, even during
outages from the grid. Composed from tempered glass,
these roofs are three t imes stronger than traditional
roofing materials; strong enough that Tesla boasts an
infinite warranty. (The batteries themselves carry a
still-considerable 30-year warranty.) Tesla’s website
describes the warranty as, “The lifetime of your house,
or infinity, whichever comes first.”
According to a statement from Tesla, “Tesla will manage
your entire solar roof experience — from the removal of
your existing roof through design, permitting, installation,
operations, and maintenance of your new solar roof. The
installation should take roughly the same time to install
www.plumbingafrica.co.za
as a tile roof installation, which is typically five to seven
days. Solar interconnection will vary by area due to
inspections required by local jurisdictions.”
MAKING THE NUMBERS WORK
While local and federal tax credits have contributed to
the domestic rise of renewable energy, much uncertainty
exists. Significantly, Tesla makes a point of emphasising
the solar investment tax credit as part of a potential
consumer’s financing package, and further suggests that
the balance of the installation cost could be absorbed
through mortgage refinancing, with a portion of that
interest cost recoupable through a tax deduction. While
Tesla promises that this credit will be in place through
2021, there are, of course, myriad factors affecting
the long-term stability of a market sustained through
government subsidies, including potential tax reform,
which could include altering the federal tax deduction
for homeowners’ mortgage interest. When asked about
the long-term trajectory of the solar thermal market,
Nelson says that much depends on the costs of other
energy sources, like the cost of coal. “Is fracking going
to be short-term or be with us for decades or centuries?”
Nelson asks. “Solar thermal was competing with oil until
the cost of oil dropped.”
Economic bellwethers of green energy may reside
overseas, particularly China, which has become the
biggest producer and consumer of solar heated water.
“There’s no other way to get it than solar thermal,”
Nelson says of hot water in China.
Russ Chaney
In the spirit of the sharing
of unique experiences
that shape the plumbing
industries in our respective
nations, the following
article looks at the increase
in diversity of renewable
energy applications. Written
by IAPMO correspondent
Matt Chapuran, it is the
next in a regular series of
similar articles that will run in
this magazine.
DOES YOUR RENEWABLE ENERGY HAVE
THE RIGHT LOOK?
Perhaps one common emerging feature of new
green technologies is a desire to blend into existing
environments — either natural or synthetic. New
Wind’s Wind Trees are designed to imitate trees.
According to an article by Melody Schreiber in Quartz,
“CEO Olivier Calloud called the Piguet Galland tree ‘as
much a piece of art as an innovation in the domain of
sustainable development’.” Tesla’s solar panels are
designed to imitate the roofing materials of existing local
architecture. According to a statement from Tesla, “The
first tiles available will be grey smooth glass and black
textured glass, with slate glass and Tuscan glass coming
in 2018.” The Smartflower’s design pays homage both to
technology and to nature. When asked if this integration
represented a trend, Scharff says, “It’s no surprise that
new companies and new technology emulate nature and
try to fit in with nature and surroundings.”
When it comes to cutting-edge technology, it is important
to discern the applicability from the design glitz. Nelson
says that a potential buyer should ask, “How utilitarian is
it? How much energy is it going to produce?” He advises
always asking tough questions of renewable energy
vendors, and to ensure that the application offers more
efficiency than other solutions. PA
May 2018 Volume 24 I Number 3